Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

flying with bass


Bassist on the Run
 Share

Recommended Posts

Depends on the flight case and the loaders you meet along the way. All my experience is pre 911 so things might have changed.

Depending on the flight crew you could be allowed to take the instrument into the cabin, but probably not these days. I've also taken the bass to the gate and handed it over to the loader.

If you have a proper flight case you should be OK.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I flew back from Grand Rapids last year with a Hofner Violin bass (in a hard case) that I bought over there. They happily let me bring it onto the plane as hand luggage, and stowed it at the front of the plane for me.

On the way back from New York last month, there was a chap with a guitar in a gig bag, and they did the same for him.

Most airlines have guidelines for flying with instruments buried somewhere on their websites.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Heya,

Sorry to hi-jack this thread but thought I'd post in here rather than start a new thread.

So I have a gig in Spain on 20th November. I don't have a flight case nor do I have any plans to invest in one just for this gig. I've been on the websites of Easyjet, Ryanair and Aer Lingus checking out their hand luggage policies which I think are the cheap airlines that fly to Malaga, Spain (I'm on a budget here so BA and other expensive airlines would be out of the question).

All websites say I can't take an instrument as big as a bass (or a guitar for my band mates) on board so would need to check it in... My question is what are the chances of us having our instruments placed at the front of the plane? I mean we don't want to check in our gear without flight cases.

Would dissembling our instruments into two pieces (body and neck) be a better option because then it'll fall under the correct measurements of taking an instrument on board as hand luggage.

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='erisu' post='1013530' date='Nov 5 2010, 05:37 PM']Heya,

Sorry to hi-jack this thread but thought I'd post in here rather than start a new thread.

So I have a gig in Spain on 20th November. I don't have a flight case nor do I have any plans to invest in one just for this gig. I've been on the websites of Easyjet, Ryanair and Aer Lingus checking out their hand luggage policies which I think are the cheap airlines that fly to Malaga, Spain (I'm on a budget here so BA and other expensive airlines would be out of the question).

All websites say I can't take an instrument as big as a bass (or a guitar for my band mates) on board so would need to check it in... My question is what are the chances of us having our instruments placed at the front of the plane? I mean we don't want to check in our gear without flight cases.

Would dissembling our instruments into two pieces (body and neck) be a better option because then it'll fall under the correct measurements of taking an instrument on board as hand luggage.

Thanks![/quote]

In my experience, the cheaper the airline, the less chance you've got of having them stow it in the cabin for you. When I've flown with work (full priced regular or premium economy), they've been happy to stow a bass for me. However, on two or three occasions when I've been flying on cheaper airlines, I've seen people pleading with check in staff to allow them to take guitars on board without success.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...